Dear Dana, I know you are dead, but I thought I would write to you anyway. Because, well, you never know. The view from the café, Csopak, Hungary. Low water in Lake Balaton. September 2026. The 44th meeting of the Balaton Group, that network of sustainability researchers and systems thinkers that you and Dennis Meadows … Continue reading TO: Donella Meadows, FROM: Alan AtKisson, SUBJ: Return to Balaton
Change and Transformation
A Thank-You Letter to ICAI, 34 Years Later. Who is ICAI?
You have (most likely) never heard of ICAI, the Institute for Cultural Affairs International. A relatively tiny outfit, but with branches all over the world, it is one of those pioneering non-profit organisations that has never gotten enough credit for its groundbreaking contributions to global sustainability practice, because we now take those contributions completely for … Continue reading A Thank-You Letter to ICAI, 34 Years Later. Who is ICAI?
Earth Day is So Yesterday. Or Is It?
Yesterday, April 22, was Earth Day. I forgot about it completely, until I was reminded of it by doing a word puzzle in my New York Times app, late in the evening. Of course the puzzle had some classic, now almost ancient environmental words in it, like reduce, reuse, and recycle. The whole experience was … Continue reading Earth Day is So Yesterday. Or Is It?
After the Shock Fades
What happens after our shock fades? That was the question asked by an old friend and colleague of mine, Robin DiAngelo, and her writing partner Delta Shelby Larkey in an opinion article published in the Minnesota Star Tribune a few weeks ago. For those of us who count as ordinary people, and who were glued … Continue reading After the Shock Fades
Holding the Center in Difficult Times
A reflection on how not to go mad when things seem to be going crazy The first time I voted in the US presidential election, in 1980, I cast my vote for Congressman John Anderson. He was a former Republican running as an independent on a socially-liberal, fiscally-conservative platform. Anderson’s quixotic campaign is mostly forgotten … Continue reading Holding the Center in Difficult Times
Celebrating a very positive, independent evaluation of GWP
This is a copy of a post I shared on LinkedIn, 5 Jan 2026. Reading the evaluation of GWP that I write about below was a great way to start the year, from a personal-professional point of view. /Alan Sometimes, all too rarely, you get to see documented proof that your work has contributed to … Continue reading Celebrating a very positive, independent evaluation of GWP
Keynote Speech: “Future Thinking for Sustainable Development”
The following is a more polished version of the opening keynote speech I delivered (speaking from notes) in Gdansk, Poland, on 16 June 2025, at an international conference on sustainable development hosted by WEB Merito Universities (see Endnotes for more info and link). I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity to present this speech, which … Continue reading Keynote Speech: “Future Thinking for Sustainable Development”
Words&Music 4: Reflections on an Old Manifesto
Dear Friends, Exactly 20 years ago (29 December 1999) I put pen to paper at a friend’s house in East London and began to write a personal manifesto for the new millennium. The resulting document, ”Sustainability is Dead — Long Live Sustainability”, had a short, modestly viral life. It was emailed around the Internet, released … Continue reading Words&Music 4: Reflections on an Old Manifesto
Words&Music 2: What a difference a half-year makes
Dear Reader, This is the second installment of my personal newsletter, Words&Music. To receive this in your inbox, sign up here: http://eepurl.com/duzZz9 Dear Reader, Global poverty. Climate change. Political uncertainty. Swedish development aid. Financial markets. The United Nations and the World Bank. The challenge of learning to lead a complex department, in a complex public … Continue reading Words&Music 2: What a difference a half-year makes
Viridian revisited: An interview with Bruce Sterling
Bruce Sterling made his name in science-fiction, part of the wave of "cyberpunk" writers working in the late 1980s and early ‘90s — other names include William Gibson and Neal Stephenson — whose work seemed more predictive than speculative. I enjoyed his novels (they won a number of awards), but I especially enjoyed being part … Continue reading Viridian revisited: An interview with Bruce Sterling
